Wahlberg pleased he sacrificed salary for The Fighter

By Anonymous

Friday, November 12, 2010

The actor plays boxer 'Irish' Micky Ward in the biopic, but the project suffered a series of setbacks when co-star Matt Damon and director Darren Aronofsky dropped out, while negotiations to sign up Brad Pitt also fell through.

The film also went from being a big budget movie to a smaller independent film, meaning Wahlberg to reportedly forego most of his salary to keep the project afloat.

But Wahlberg is adamant he made the right decision - because he wanted to keep his word to Ward and his brother Dickie to ensure their tale got told.

He tells Deadline.com, "I'm more nervous about taking a big salary on a big budget movie where, if it doesn't succeed, you're in big trouble because you take all that weight for its failure.

"I believed in this movie, that it was an amazing story that could inspire people. I thought those guys were so heroic. And I'd given my word and I didn't want to be that guy who said, 'Hey, we're doing something', and then not...

"This movie had to get made. So I had to figure (it) out. At Paramount, they had a certain idea of how they wanted the movie to be made, the filmmaker, the co-star and the budget... I went to the studio and said, 'I think I can figure out a way to get this movie done. Can you let me take (it) for a little while, and then bring it back to you?'

"They entrusted me with that. I thought I had figured out a way to make the best possible version of this movie and I was able to go and get that done."

The film, co-starring Christian Bale and Amy Adams, is due for release next month (Dec10).